Drive for counters.



C. P. WETMORE.

DRIVE FOR COUNTERS. APPLICATION FILED Ammo. 1916.

1,261,081.. V Patented A r. 2, 1918.

nan ornrcn.

CHARLES P. WETMORE, OF MILWAUKEE, WISEONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO DURANT MANUFAC-TUBING COMPANY, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSILLA CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

DRIVE FOR COUNTERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 2, 1918.

Application filed August 10, 1916. Serial in. 114,128.

To all whom it may concern:

. Be it known that 1, CHARLES P. Wn'rMonn, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and resident of Milwaukee, in thecounty of Milwaukee and Stateof Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Drives forposes where a count is necessary. a

The invention is particularly designed t provide a simple positive andaccurate driving mechanism for the counter which consists of a ratcheton the shaft carrying the counters, a Geneva toothed gear for engagingthe ratchet, and a pawl cooperating with the gear to prevent the countermoving more than one tooth during each operation of the drivingmechanism.

In counters of this kind the restraining pawl is generally operated by aspring and as the spring will not keep its initial tension itsemployment destroys the positive action of the device and this'positiveaccurate action is essential as sometimes one movement of the countingwheel will indicate that a great quantity of material has been weighedas in the case of recording the quantity of grain delivered to anelevator where every movement of the counting wheel represents thereceipt of a hundred bushels. It will therefore be seen that thedispensing with the unreliable spring for actuating the pawl and itsreplacement by means for positively actuating the pawl is of.decidedadvantage and I have accomplished this ob ject by providing acam for operating the pawl on the operation of the 'counter.

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafterdescribed and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusionhereof.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a device cmbodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1. y

The driving mechanism for the counter comprises an operating shaft 4journaled in a frame 5 and a driving connection between said shaft andthe counter shaft 6 also journaled in a frame.

The counter shaft is of usual construction as is also the counter wheel7 which is operatively connected to a ratchet or gear wheel 8 mounted onthe shaft 6. The ratchet wheel 8 may be directly connected up to thewheel 7 in any well-known manner and this connection may also embody anysuitable means for resetting the counter, said means not being shown asit does not constitute any part of the present invention. As manycounting wheels may be mounted on the shaft 6 as desired and these maybe operatively connected to each other in any suitable manner. As thesubject matter of this invention resides in the means for driving thecounter shaft 6 irrespective of the number of counting wheels mountedthereon and the way they are connected together I have shown only onecounting wheel which may be the only one used or the first of a seriesof counting wheels mounted on the counter shaft 6. I y y The means foractuating the shaft 6 comprises a driving connection between said shaftand the drive shaft 4: andmeans for insuring but one movement of theshaft 6 for a single operation of the drive shaft 4.

This driving. connection consists ofa member 9 having a single Genevatooth 10 formed thereon which is adapted to mesh with the teeth 11 onthe ratchet wheel 8.-

VVhile the shaft 4 may be either rotated or oscillated to cause thetooth 10 to advance the ratchetwheel a single tooth to move the wheel 7for a single count I have shown a means for oscillating the shaft 4which is used in connection with restraining means hereinafterdescribed. This means foroscillating the shaft 4: comprises a crank 12which is adapted to move the shaft 4: in one direction and a retractilespring 13 mounted on'said shaft and secured at one end to the frame 5and at the other to a stop finger lt mounted on the shaft 4. Themovement of the shaft 4 is limited by stops 15 and 16 projectingupwardly from the base and into the path of movement of the stop finger14. With this construction the crank is moved up by the operator,through any suitable connection, to cause the tooth 10 to engage one ofthe teeth 11 of the ratchet 8 to thereby move the counter shaft for onecount and the shaft 4 is then returned to its initialposition throughthe agency of the spring 13. The gear member 9 is of peculiar form 111that the periphery 17 is circular and its diratchet.

The single tooth 10 will engage the ratchet wheel 8 to move said wheelfor a single count of the counter wheel 7 and on the return movement ofthe shaft 4. the tooth 10 moves over the inclined face 18 of the nexttooth and assumes a position behind it as shown in Fig. 3 to move thisnext tooth forwardly on the next operation of the counter. On the returnmovement of the tooth 10 the ratchet would be moved backwardly the samedistance were it not for the restraining means new to be described.

The means for restraining the movement of the counter shaft after it hasbeen moved to effect one count consists of a pawl 19 pivotally mountedon a pin 20 secured to the frame 5. The front end 21 of this pawl has aninclined face 22 adapted to move between the ratchet teeth 11 and tocontact with the inclined face 23 of the tooth to limit the backwardmovement of the ratchet wheel toprevent back movement thereof to theposition previously occupied thereby.

As previously stated I have provided positively operating means foractuating the pawl and this consists of a pin 24 secured to the gearmember 9 and adaptedto con tact withcam surfaces 25 and 26 formed nearthe rear end of the pawl.

The operation of the pawl is as follows:

On a forward movement of the counter wheel through movement of thecounter wheel through the gearing connection previously described, theshaft 4: is moved to cause the pin 24: to move along the cam surfaces 25and 26 and then away from the same to a position shown in Fig. 2 thepawl moving over the inclined face 18 of the ratchet tooth adjacentthereto and finally moving off said face. On the return move ment of theshaft the pin 24: engages the cam surface 26 and moves the front end ofthe pawl downwardly against the face 23 of the next tooth and then movesalong the cam surface 25 so as to positively lock the pawl in engagementwith the ratchet and thus insure an accurate count.

While I have shown and described a positively operated pawl which isactuated in con unction with an oscillatory shaft, it will be understoodthat the gearing connection between the drive shaft and the countershaft may also be employed in connection with devices in which the driveshaft is rotated and in which other means are provided for insuringagainst the backward movement of the shaft 6 and its counting wheel 7.

The invention thus exemplifies a simple and efficient counter-actuatingmechanism.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a counter, the combination, with a counter shaft provided with acounter-wheel, of means for moving saidshaft comprising a ratchet wheelmounted thereon, an actuating shaft, a member mounted on said actuatingshaft and provided with a single tooth adapted to mesh with any tooth ofthe ratchet wheel, a pivoted pawl for engaging the ratchet to preventbackward movement of the counter shaft, and having a cam surfacethereon, and means for positively actuating the pawl comprising a pin onthe single toothed member for. engaging said cam surface.

2. Ina counter, the combination, with a counter-shaft provided with acounter-wheel, of means for moving said shaft comprising a ratchet wheelmounted on the shaft, an actuating shaft, a member mounted on saidactuating shaft and provided with a single tooth adapted to mesh withany tooth of the ratchet wheel, and having a portion adapted to bedisposed between two adjacent teeth of the ratchet wheel to preventmovement of the ratchet wheel after it has been moved by said singletooth, and means for limiting the backward movement of said countershaftto prevent back movement thereof to a position previously occupiedthereby.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

, CHARLES P. WETMORE.

Series of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

